I'm an executive coach who helps individuals and organizations better themselves. I spent the fun part of my former career as a Navy SEAL deployed eight times around the world, and the not so fun part getting shot on two of them. Throughout it all, one theme remained constant: adapting to change. After the Navy, I worked in management consulting for the McChrystal Group before venturing out on my own to serve others as an executive coach. Now, I help individuals, teams and organizations navigate their own complexities by pairing two fundamental experiences: 1) individual coaching and 2) leadership development and training programs. Feel free to reach out anytime at www.adaptabilitycoach.com

The author is a Forbes contributor. The opinions expressed are those of the writer.

6 Ways To Thrive In Chaos

Change, in business and life, can be chaotic. While change may be a natural occurrence, accepting it is not, which is why we (humans) are creatures of habit and enjoy personal security. Going through Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training (BUD/S), there were many things I learned about myself and others that I never fully grasped or even knew existed, such as the body’s threshold for pain, emotional tolerance, new levels of teamwork and camaraderie, mental toughness and the willingness to adapt to change. To thrive in chaos and adapt to change requires the mental preparedness to modify one’s thoughts at a moment’s notice.

In SEAL training, change was a tool used within each and every training event. In fact, change was ingrained so deeply into our minds as BUD/S students that even the training events themselves were called “evolutions,” thus implying that gradual transformation is inherent.

US Navy 070202-N-5169H-699 Basic Underwater Demolition-SEAL (BUD-S) brace for impact during whistle drills under the watchful eye of a BUD-S instructor during a combat scenario-driven field training exercise (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The motto of BUD/S was (and still is), “The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday ,” meaning, that no matter how great or how well you performed yesterday, forget about it because yesterday’s over. You had to adapt to whatever challenges put forth each new day and prove your worth over and over again.

This motto can be overwhelming given the fact that SEAL training is six months long and completely voluntary (students can quit at any time). So, to overcome the stress inherent in this constant stream of chaos, students must learn how to thrive amidst a constantly changing environment, and it begins with mental preparation. Here are six ways to mentally prepare yourself to deal with change and thrive in chaos:

1. Re-frame your thoughts. Actions and emotions are the result of one’s thoughts, so the second a negative thought enters your mind, push it out and replace it with a positive one. One way to let go of a negative thought is to label it. Mary Lore, founder and CEO of Managing Thought, advises how assigning labels (i.e. “that’s a negative thought) allows you to see them as something to either “look at or to look from.” How you see a problem may just bethe problem, so by re-framing your thoughts you can see old challenges in a new light.

2. Speak to the positive. Eliminate contractions from your vocabulary. Instead of saying, “I don’t want to go to [dinner]” try, “I would rather eat dinner at home.” This exercise helps your brain constantly look for the positive in everything. After all, nobody wants to be the “Negative Nancy.”

3. Take the 30-day challenge. Every day for thirty days, write down three things you’re grateful for. That’s it. Sounds pretty easy, right? The only catch is this: there can be no repeats. So, if you’re thankful for your cat who doesn’t cough up hairballs all over the place, find something else to be grateful about regarding little kitty next time. Studies show that for a habits to take effect requires roughly three weeks of consistent repetition. The purpose of this exercise is similar to number two above, where you train your brain to look for the smallest glimmer of positivity in everything because, believe it or not, the 30-day challenge is not easy. You will find it gradually more difficult to generate new ideas every day.

4. Exercise. While serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine all help circulate thoughts and emotions throughout the brain, stress can actually eat away at these connections and even constrict certain areas within. However, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Dr. John Ratey notes in his bestselling book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, how “exercise unleashes a cascade of neurochemicals and growth factors that can reverse this process, physically bolstering the brain’s infrastructure.” While the amount of exercise required is yet to be determined, Dr. Ratey recommends at least thirty minutes of aerobic exercise three days a week but says even just ten minutes is better than nothing.

5. Give yourself a mental boost. Set small goals for yourself that allows you to feel a sense of achievement. During BUD/S, for instance, a personal goal of mine was to endure through the current evolution or to never quit during an evolution, since that was when motivation was at a low point already (similar to not going shopping at the grocery store while hungry). When you set a goal, no matter how large or small, it provides a sense of victory that helps boost your self-efficacy, thus creating a spiral of motivation leading you to set larger, more aspirational goals.

6. Socialize. Surround yourself with like-minded individuals because the old saying that “misery loves company” is true. A study performed by the Journal of Management on the role of social support showed that strong relationships can fill the gap where stress is concerned and help people perceive situations as less stressful to begin with. Additionally, personal connections lower cortisol levels—a hormone in the brain related to stress—which means you can recover faster from work-related stress and thus better inoculate yourself towards such stressors in the future.

Try these aforementioned exercises during times of turmoil and you’ll be surprised at how much easier it is to adapt to change—and thrive in chaos.

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Great article. The linkage between mind and body is so obvius but not many people think about and even less do it. Since your mind and body occupy the same parking lot it only makes sense to take care of and exercise both. The manner in which you spoke of the linkage and why it’s important was fun to read and informative.